1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a charging system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a charging system for portable equipment connected to a terminal device such as a personal computer.
2. Description of related art
Recently, the use of mobile phones has rapidly increased and it is said that one in every three Japanese people has a mobile phone. It seems merely a matter of time that the day will come when almost all people in the country, except infants, will possess a mobile phone of some kind.
On the other hand, use of a personal computer (PC) has also rapidly increased and many businessmen, in general, use a personal computer in their work places. Among them, the number of people who possess both a note book-type portable PC and a mobile phone and who use them in places where there is no external power supply has significantly increased.
The first thing that must be accounted for when a note book-type portable PC or a mobile phone is expected to be used outside is how to charge the batteries. Especially in a situation where the note book-type portable PC and the mobile phone are expected to be used outside for a long time, it is necessary to carry charging devices specially designed for the PC and the mobile phone, respectively.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a conventional manner of connecting a computer and a mobile phone during operating conditions. A mobile phone 51 is connected to a computer 52 via a cable 55 and an interface card 54, to carry out a sending/receiving operation of data. Electric power for the operation of the computer 52 is supplied from an outlet 56 via a DC adapter 53. In order to change the mobile phone 51,it is necessary to connect the mobile phone 51 to the outlet 56 via a charging device 57 which is specially designed for the mobile phone 51.
Also, in many occasions, it is desired to connect the computer 52 to the Internet using the mobile phone 51 when there is no outlet 56,such as in a situation when working outside. In such a circumstance, however, it often happens that a connection to the Internet cannot be made due to the exhaustion of the batteries contained in the mobile phone 51 even though the remaining charge of the batteries in the computer 52 is sufficient.
In the case described above, if a charging device especially designed for charging the mobile phone S1 is merely mounted in the computer 52 to carry out a charging process for the mobile phone 51, the circuit thereof will overlap with the charging circuit for the computer 52,and the size of the computer 52 as well as the cost necessary for the production thereof will increase.
Accordingly, a charging system has been awaited, which is capable of charging the batteries of a computer and a mobile phone in a uniform manner, and also capable of charging the mobile phone when the computer does not require electric power from an external power supply, i.e., when the computer is powered by internal batteries and the remaining charge of the batteries is sufficient.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a charging system for portable equipment which does not require an increase in the size and cost of a computer and which is capable of charging portable equipment by using electric power supplied from the computer.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a charging system for portable equipment used in a system including an information terminal and portable equipment connected to the information terminal, the portable equipment being operated by using electric power supplied from a battery and data is transmitted between the information terminal and the portable equipment via a communication unit, including: a power supply output device provided with the information terminal, the power supply output device being capable of supplying electric power, which is supplied to the information terminal, to the portable equipment; and a first battery control device provided with the portable equipment, the first battery control device receives electric power supplied from the power supply output device and performs a charging operation for the battery of the portable equipment.
The present invention also provides a charging system for portable equipment, wherein the first battery control device detects a remaining charge of the battery of the portable equipment; and the power supply output device supplies electric power to the portable equipment when the remaining charge of the battery of the portable equipment detected by the first battery control device is equal to or less than a first allowable value.
The present invention also provides a charging system for portable equipment, further including: an identification device provided with the information terminal, the identification device identifies whether the information terminal is being operated in battery mode, wherein the power supply output device supplies electric power to the portable equipment when the identification device identifies that the information terminal is not being operated in battery mode.
The present invention also provides a charging system for portable equipment, further including: a second battery control device provided with the information terminal, the second battery control device detects the remaining charge of a second battery which supplies electric power to the information terminal, wherein the power supply output device supplies electric power to the portable equipment when the identification device identifies that the information terminal is not being operated in battery mode or the remaining charge of the second battery detected by the second battery control device is greater than a second allowable value, and the power supply output device stops supplying electric power to the portable equipment when the identification device identifies that the information terminal is being operated in battery mode and the remaining charge of the second battery detected by the second battery control device is equal to or less than a second allowable value.
The present invention also provides a charging system for portable equipment, further including: a display unit which displays a reduction in the remaining charge of the second battery when the remaining charge of the second battery detected by the second battery control device is equal to or less than the second allowable value and no electric power is being supplied from the information terminal.
The present invention also provides a charging system for portable equipment, further including: an alarm unit which produces an alarm sound when the remaining charge of the second battery detected by the second battery control device is equal to or less than the second allowable value and no electric power is being supplied from the information terminal.
The present invention also provides a charging system for portable equipment, further including: a power transmission coil provided with the information terminal, electric power being supplied to the power transmission coil from the information terminal; and a power receiving coil provided with the portable equipment, the power receiving coil is electromagnetically coupled with the power transmission coil and supplies an induced voltage to the portable equipment, wherein the communication unit carries out data transmission between the information terminal and the portable equipment by means of radio communication or optical communication.
According to the present invention, since the electric power to be supplied to an information terminal may be supplied to portable equipment, a charging operation for the portable equipment may be performed without using a separate charging device which is specially designed for the portable equipment. Thus, the charging operation may be carried out in a significantly more convenient manner.
Also, according to the present invention, the charging operation for the portable equipment is performed when the information terminal is operated in battery mode and the remaining charge of the battery is greater than an allowable value. That is, the charging operation for the portable equipment is not carried out when the remaining charge of the battery is equal to or less than the allowable value. In this manner, a situation where the battery of the information terminal runs out and becomes inoperative is prevented.
Moreover, according to the present invention, data is transmitted between the information terminal and the portable equipment by means of radio communication or optical communication, and electric power is transferred by the electromagnetic coupling of coils provided in both the information terminal and the portable equipment. Accordingly, use of a coupling cable which physically connects the portable equipment and the information terminal becomes unnecessary and portability of the present invention is further increased.